Protective packaging of a general nature for packaging of items are known. In the case here, particularly sensitive items are to be protected against damage and/or contact by a protective packaging.
In the medical field, it is frequently necessary to protect work pieces or mounting means from hand contact or contamination by other objects.
In the medical field, mounting means such as screws, pins, medical mounting means and tools and the like must be protected from hand contact.
Such a protective packaging is shown by DE 10 2013 004 146 A1. It involves packaging for elongated objects with sharp edges, in particular for tools for surgical applications, which are in a packaging at least partially composed of plastic held in a secure position, the package consisting essentially of an enlarged packaging portion that consists of shell parts pivotally connected by a film hinge, which define a packaging portion as an interior into which the object to be protected and secured protrudes with its sharp-edged surfaces in a noncontact manner.
DE 10 2013 004 146 A1 already describes a protective packaging for the packaging of sharp-edged items like tools, instruments and the like by securing an object used in connection with a holder, where the protective packaging maintains the object in a secure position therein.
The two shell parts mounted pivotally to each other in the area of a longitudinal side are connected to a second packaging part, which in turn consists of two shell parts mounted pivotally to each other between which the shaft of the item is accommodated and held in a secure position by holding elements.
The holding elements provided for holding the shaft are designed as shell parts that can be locked together pivotable to each other in the area of a film hinge. For complete, touch-proof removal of an item from the packaging, a second film hinge is provided that extends with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the first-named film hinge. The design of the packaging is expensive, because two pairs of shell parts are present with each pair having a film hinge—connecting each pair—designed pivotal to each other. However, with such sterilizable protective packages the expense associated with this is justified.
To remove the sharp-edged object from the packaging, first the shaft-side snap lock between the shell parts holding and surrounding the instrument shaft there must be released to pivot the two shell parts away from each other. This frees the shaft, and the sharp-edged instrument can only be fixed on an attachment support by a sliding motion.
A rotational movement on the protective packaging to fix the packaged instrument on an external attachment support is not possible. The axis of rotation with which the instrument together with the protective packaging is rotated is coaxial to the second pivot axis of the film hinge that pivotally connects the two shell parts with each other.
A rotational movement to fix the instrument would therefore pivot the two shell parts away from each other as an opening movement and unintentionally open them. This can only be prevented by applying a strong locking force on the two shell parts still closed with the hand performing the rotational movement, but this exposes the packaging to a high torque in the area of the shell parts that twists the two shell parts against each other and unintentionally opens them.
Accordingly, the intended fastening of an instrument can only occur with a sliding motion on the protective packaging in the direction of an external tool holder. After successful fastening, the shell parts accommodating the sharp-edged part of the instrument are pivoted away from each other, which fixes the sharp-edged instrument on the tool holder protected against contact.
A disadvantage of the known packaging is the expense of designing the package with two shell part pairs and the use of two film hinges perpendicular to each other. Another disadvantage is the cumbersome handling, because to release the shaft one shell part pair must first be opened and then the second shell part pair opened for complete removal of the object. The known protective packaging also has no mounting and removal function with which the touch-proof instrument or the item to be held can be attached to and removed from an external tool holder using a rotational movement.
Consequently, the present invention is based on the object of refining a protective packaging of the type described above for any items to be protected in such a way that the object contained in the protective packaging can be mounted on and removed from any fastening holders without contact with the hand and the handling of the protective packaging is simplified.